Software and specialized equipment for optical character recognition (“OCR”) have become commercially available, but still require specialized hardware. For example, FIG. 1 shows an OCR system 100 which includes specialized business card image capture camera 110 (indicated by a block 110). Camera 110 is configured for capturing an image of an object of interest (e.g., business card) and generating image data 115 (indicated by an arrow). In existing systems, camera 110 is typically add-on equipment that is external to a standard computer and is specialized for the capture of desired images (e.g., of business cards). In order to optimize image capture conditions such as conjugate distance and illumination, camera 110 often includes hardware for holding the business cards at a particular distance and angle from the camera. Camera 110 can also be a box-type setup, including a slot for feeding business cards therethrough and an internal light source and image capture device. Image data 115 is then fed to a computer 120 including OCR software installed thereon. Computer 120 then performs OCR processes on image data 115 and provides an output 125. Output 125 is, for example, a display of a captured image as well as data extracted from the image using the OCR software, such as the business card owner's name and contact information organized into a format that can be fed into available contact management applications.
It is recognized that the add-on equipment, such as shown in FIG. 1, may be regarded by consumers as cumbersome, costly and undesirable.